GEYL's director, board members have already accomplished their goal

 Rick Juarez had one goal when he volunteered as President of the Board of Directors of the Greeley Evans Youth League: to leave it better than he found it. He, director Mimi Costinett, and Board Vice President Tami Grant have accomplished that already.

            The GEYL has been serving youth baseball in the Greeley-Evans area since 1962. It is committed to providing youth baseball and softball opportunities to area youth in Greeley and the surrounding area.

            Juarez has been president of the Board for six years, but has been with the league for nine. He was a volunteer coach for the first three.

            Costinett has been director for 20 years. Her reason for getting involved is quite special.

            “When I had my own children in the program,” she said. “I started off as a volunteer.”

            Grant has been with the league in different capacities for 17 years.

            “We look at various rules year to year, make adjustments to try to streamline things, make things better as much as possible and meet the needs of the community,” Grant said of what the three do in running the GEYL.

Both Juarez and Costinett agreed on the most challenging part of their work.

            “Honestly, parents,” Juarez said. “It’s very difficult to explain to a parent that their kid is not getting a college scholarship at the age of 9 or 11.”

            Grant had a different response.

            “Really being flexible given any type of situation that could arise,” Grant said. “A lot of it might be weather, obviously. It’s a sport that you can’t necessarily control the environment.”

While Juarez said that parents getting too involved is one of the issues the league has, Costinett had a different response.

            “The issues or problems are that it’s most often hard to understand the team sport aspect,” she said. “Everyone is more concerned with the individuality than the team.”

            She has one goal every year.

            “Just to ensure a safe season every year,” she said. “That’s my goal. Safe for everyone.”

            Being involved with youth baseball can be a learning experience for everyone involved.

            “To be humble,” Juarez said of the biggest thing he’s learned. “I wasn’t a humble person until I started volunteering.”

            Grant highlighted one learning experience.

            “When we’re looking at different rules of the game and trying to make appropriate recommendations for our league,” she said. “You have to be willing to take the stance of ‘this is the direction the league is going to go.’”

            Colleagues can also be helpful in this line of work.

            “I’ve learned that a different opinion is very healthy,” Juarez said. “We may not agree on everything we talk about, but it’s always good to have different ideas.”

            Costinett said she has learned the most from the umpires.

            “I’ve learned to look out and get the input from the umpires,” she said. “That’s something that most coaches and parents don’t do. I kind of feel like I have to protect the umpires.”

            Grant has some advice for others involved with youth baseball.

            “If you’re building a ballfield, put your stands in the outfield,” she said. “If spectators are in the outfield and they yell and scream, it’s not going to effect the game to the level that it does when they’re seven feet behind home plate.”

            Costinett highlighted the program in her advice.

            “My advice would be to consider the program as a whole, as opposed to individuality,” she said. “How everything affects others that are in the program. Also to not show favoritism or even the appearance that you’re showing favoritism to someone.”

            Juarez said his parents have deeply influenced who he is today.

            “My parents always told us ‘you’re going to work hard, we want you to have better lives than we had,’” he said. “They just wanted us to be prepared to be successful.”

            Some life-changing experiences have put them on paths to where they are today.

            “I made a decision in 1992 not to re-enlist [in the military],” Juarez said. “I think making that decision has put me on a path in life where I have great children and a wonderful wife.”

            Costinett highlighted her reason for getting involved as a life-changing experience.

            “I guess having my kids definitely changed the path,” she said. “I don’t think I ever would’ve done this had I not had children of my own in the program.”

            Grant highlighted her experience in youth baseball.

            “Being a player and a long-time umpire, it was a natural pathway for me to continue,” she said.

            Being involved in youth baseball can be very surprising.

            “The first time I got a call that we had a fight between two parents,” Juarez said of the biggest surprise. “9News was chasing me around Greeley to get an interview.”

            Costinett said the job surprises every single day.

            “You have definitely got to be flexible and level-headed,” she said.

            Juarez highlighted one more thing that motivates him.

            “I do the things that I do because I have a strong belief in Christ,” he said. “He guides me and helps me make the decisions. My faith is my backbone.”

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